A plan to add food scraps to 麻豆精选鈥檚 curbside collection is likely to be shelved.
City staff are recommending against joining the Regional District of Central Okanagan鈥檚 (RDCO) proposed food waste program, saying the move doesn鈥檛 make financial or logistical sense at this time.
鈥淭here are significant uncertainties with location, design, technical features, and space requirements,鈥� staff wrote in a report going to council on June 9. 鈥淭hese factors鈥攃ombined with cost鈥攎ake this the wrong time to proceed.鈥�
The RDCO鈥檚 plan involves letting residents toss food waste into green bins, expanding yard waste pickup to weekly year-round, and reducing garbage collection to every other week. While 73 per cent of surveyed residents liked the idea, city staff say the math doesn鈥檛 work.
麻豆精选 households currently pay $198 per year for curbside collection. Adding food waste service would bump that up by $60 to $70鈥攁 30 to 35 per cent increase.
The city鈥檚 Glenmore landfill already handles about 45,000 tonnes of organic material each year, but isn鈥檛 equipped to process food waste due to space, odour, and wildlife concerns. Staff say a new transfer station would be needed鈥攅stimated at $12 million, though likely higher in an urban setting.
Another challenge is future growth. About 65 per cent of new homes in 麻豆精选 will be apartments, which aren鈥檛 part of the curbside program. Commercial waste from hotels, grocers, schools, and restaurants wasn鈥檛 included in the proposal either.
Staff aren鈥檛 against the idea entirely. They鈥檙e asking council to revisit food waste collection in the 2030 Regional Solid Waste Management Plan, with a focus on including both multi-family and commercial sectors.
For now, though, the city isn鈥檛 ready to bite.
鈥淪taff recommend not proceeding鈥� due to the estimated cost impacts, uncertainty in the implementation, and a preference to consider impacts to the program from commercial food waste and the growing percentage of multi-family units.鈥�
